This year we proudly welcome an elite group of culinary masters and world-class wines to the Tetons for Jackson Hole Food & Wine.

BILLY WEISS

OWNER/IMPORTER, NORTH BERKELEY IMPORTS

WINE DIRECTOR, Jackson Hole Food & Wine

Billy Weiss bought North Berkeley Imports in 1999. Having successfully run his own wine store in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Billy was on the lookout for an opportunity to expand his business into importing. After a careful search he found a burgeoning North Berkeley wine store and arranged to purchase what was to become North Berkeley Imports from its original owner. Under Billy’s guidance, North Berkeley launched a national wholesale business which he now oversees, servicing over 20 states with five regional sales managers. Billy has also put an important focus on building a dynamic Italian portfolio, and in keeping with his goal for North Berkeley as a whole, they strive to share lasting relationships with diverse growers of true distinction.

Eddie gilbert

dIRECTOR of sales, NORTH BERKELEY IMPORTS

Eddie may have stumbled his way into the wine world by accident, but after a stint at a spectacular bottle shop in downtown Napa and a post as wine manager for a highly respected high-end retailer, he was hooked. In 2015, his passions and palate led him to the portfolio and team at North Berkeley Imports. He is a storyteller by trade, with a background in sales, marketing and operations. Before wine, Eddie held multiple management positions in the entertainment industry, consulted for Deepak Chopra, and spent five years as a professional cook. As director at the head of our direct-to-consumer division, Eddie has found the perfect place to share his affinity for what lies inside a bottle and the fantastic people that put it there.

Pierre-Antoine Rovani

President, Remoissenet Père et Fils

In 2005, Remoissenet started the next chapter in its generations-long history. With new owners and renewed leadership under Pierre-Antoine Rovani (formerly of the Wine Advocate) and Bernard Repolt (Maison Louis Jadot). Pierre-Antoine Rovani is the President of Remoissenet Père et Fils, a 13.5 hectare (over 33 acres) Burgundian estate and négociant house located in Beaune.

The estate is bringing more vineyards under its own roof and importantly, raising the qualitative bar for itself and its vine-growing partners across the board. The proof, of course, is in each bottle. Whether “basic” Bourgogne to hallowed grand cru, Remoissenet wines show a suave elegance in perfume and texture, with a finish made of silk.

CHEF CHRIS SHEPHERD

JHFW Culinary Director

Underbelly, HoustonOne Fifth, Houston

Midwest-raised, James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd opened Underbelly, featuring locally-sourced food inspired by the ethnic diversity of Houston, in March 2012. The Art Institute-alum and former Executive Sous Chef-turned-Sommelier of Brennan’s brings his farm-to-table passion to fruition at Underbelly.

The 2014 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Southwest was also named one of the Top 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine. Underbelly was named to the National Eater 38 (one of 38 essential restaurants in America) in 2015 and as one of the best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit and Esquire in 2014.

Most recently, Chris opened One Fifth Steak in January 2017, one of the countries most anticipated restaurants. One Fifth is Chris’s five-year project featuring five different restaurant concepts. Each concept will be open Sept. 1 until July 31.

One Fifth Steak is the first of these concepts and is Chris's version of a steakhouse. It features numerous meaty dishes, including steaks prepared in cast iron skillets. Plus, there's a raw bar that will crank out oysters on the half shell, seafood towers, tuna tartare and more. Chris prides himself on utilizing all cuts of meat, not to mention even dishes that seem relatively straightforward often come with an inventive twist.

Chris also runs two Underbelly kiosks inside Reliant Stadium, serving up football-friendly dishes during Houston Texans home games. When he is not cheering on his beloved Houston Texans, he is seeking out hard-to-find bottles for his ever-growing bourbon collection and exploring the city for new restaurants.

CHEF RYAN PRewitt

Pêche Seafood Grill, New Orleans

Ryan Prewitt began his culinary career in the farmer’s markets of San Francisco, where a burgeoning interest in food developed into a full-blown career. After spending time working for chefs Robert Cubberly and Alicia Jenish at Le Petite Robert Bistro, he moved to New Orleans to work with Chef Donald Link at Herbsaint. Ryan proved to be a quick study under Link’s tutelage and became Chef de Cuisine in 2009. He subsequently moved on to oversee culinary operations at Link Restaurant Group as Executive Chef for the company.

With a new job came an increased ability to learn and travel. As a member of the Fatback Collective, a group of Southern chefs who have compiled numerous accolades and awards in restaurants across the South, Ryan has learned new traditions and techniques from many talented BBQ pitmasters and has traveled to Uruguay to study traditional open-fire cooking.

These experiences, along with a trip to observe grilling techniques in Spain, culminated in the opening of Pêche Seafood Grill. Ryan received the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: South in May 2014, the same year Pêche earned the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.

For more than 25 years, North Berkeley Imports has discovered and imported authentic, expressive wines from France and Italia destined for leading restaurants and wine shops as well as for private cellars across the country. With a retail store in Berkeley, California and offices in Europe, their team is dedicated to providing customers with the finest wine selections the world over.

As an importer, their relationships with growers is everything to them. There is nothing easy about living a farmer’s life, whether one is born to the craft or chooses it independently. For them, it is an honor to represent the fruit of a grower’s year-long labors; it is a privilege to bring their art to the broader world.

On this basis, many of their first grower partners are still with them today. They were one of the first importers to bring grower Champagne from Domaine Egly-Ouriet to the United States. Pioneering organic estate Mas de Gourgonnier from Provence was one of their very first partners; they’ve worked now with three generations of the Sabon family from Clos du Mont-Olivet in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. These are just a few examples from their 100-grower strong portfolio; explore all their producers from France and Italia here.

Remoissenet Père et Fils is a reference point for refined Burgundy wines. This ancient estate, connected by mortar and stone to the medieval walls of Beaune, is for serious collectors linked by vine and bottle to Burgundy’s hallowed past and its exciting future.

Wandering through the 150-year-old estate’s hand-carved cellars is to travel back in time, each cool bottle telling a story of vintages past, wars won, anniversaries celebrated. Yet among these bottled memories are barrels of stories to come: older vines tended according to biodynamic methods, unique terroirs selected with the utmost care and in micro-quantities.

In 2005, Remoissenet started the next chapter in its generations-long history. With new owners and renewed leadership under Pierre-Antoine Rovani (formerly of the Wine Advocate) and Bernard Repolt (Maison Louis Jadot), the estate is bringing more vineyards under its own roof and importantly, raising the qualitative bar for itself and its vine-growing partners across the board.

The proof, of course, is in each bottle. Whether “basic” Bourgogne to hallowed grand cru, Remoissenet wines show a suave elegance in perfume and texture, with a finish made of silk.